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Moments earlier, he and his girlfriend, Joanne Detjen, pulled their car into the center’s parking lot and joined the line, a mix of students and Milton Hershey School house parents with small children. The couple were tipped off from a school employee about the ice cream while visiting Founder’s Hall on campus.

After ordering a cone of Rololicious — made with Hershey’s signature chocolate and caramel candy — Carrier added his two cents: “It’s so good. This is the best ice cream I’ve ever had.”

It’s a little-known secret: Students at the school run an ice-cream shop tagged “Home of Spartan Ice Cream.” The takeout-only window operates out of a white barn appropriately decorated with black spots a la dairy cow.

The hours are limited — noon to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays — and the center is only open about seven weeks during the summer. It closes Aug. 16 for the season.

Those who know about it come for the scoops of teaberry, pina colada, Heath Bar crunch, Chocolate Palm Tree and Rololicious. The price can’t be beat at $1 a cone and $3.99 for a half-gallon.

The school is able to keep the price of a cone at an purse-pleasing price, and even at a $1 a cone, the creamery breaks even. While it’s a sweet deal for the customers who line up at the window, it’s an even better break for the students.

Sales of the ice cream began in 1995 as a teaching tool for students.

Inside the center, about seven students hover over a freezer in a beehive of activity, dipping ice cream. They wear white button-up shirts embroidered with “Spartan Ice Cream” along with hair nets and gloves.

The students do everything from creating the flavors and ice cream production to taking orders, making change and scooping.

“We get to learn how to make different flavors of ice cream. We get to work with the public. It’s just a fun job to have,” said Leila Asemani, 14, a freshman.

Students at the school are required to enroll in a career path through the Career/Technology Education Program. They can choose from about a dozen categories including automotive, computer technology, health science or engineering and design.

Those who select agriculture and environmental education program can spend the summer working in the Cloverdale Center.

“It’s such an opportunity for so many kids to learn about how to be in the world of work,” said Crystal Huff, director of the school’s agriculture and environmental education program.

“They are learning skills that can help them in their life,” she added.

The center also continues a tradition started by Milton S. Hershey. Until 2010, the school had operated a working dairy barn, but the milk was never used for the ice cream because of a lack of pasteurizing facilities.

Spartan ice cream is made in a stainless Emery Thompson machine in 3-gallon batches. They use a cream and sugar mix, flavorings and add-ins, mostly candies, such as Reese’s Pieces and Heath Bars, from The Hershey Co.

Peaches for the peach ice cream come from the school’s Project Market, a summer internship program in which students grow and sell fruits and vegetables.

Altogether, the students create about 30 flavors offered on a cyclical basis. Senior student Tollae Henry, 17, who prefers Heath Bar crunch, said it’s hard keeping up with orders when crowds line up at the window.

“Sometimes it can be intimidating,” he said.

But co-worker, sophomore Ty-rique Davenport, 15, summed up the work experience: “I love watching people smile when they get their ice cream because it tastes really good.”

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